The Ultimatum
by Yellow-eyed-wonder
Summary: Life was normal at the institute, that is, until Mystique had plans of her own. Kurt now has to make one of the biggest decisions of his life. What will he choose?
1. Dreary Day

It was a brand new morning at the Institute for Gifted Youngsters. It was a Saturday, but instead of the young mutants taking the opportunity to get out of the institute, they were all restricted to the indoors because of the threats of dangerous weather. It was a dreary day as it rained on and off, and the occasional rumble of thunder was a good indicator that the weather wasn't friendly. Even though everyone would rather be out, they obeyed the professor's orders and stayed indoors.

Meanwhile, several young mutants sat at the breakfast table eating their fill for the morning. Present was Rogue, Kitty, Logan, Kurt, Bobby, and Evan. Offered in a buffet style were eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, sausage, and a variety of fresh fruits. Rogue, as usual, sat at the far end of the table, keeping to herself as she sat there in silence picking at her pancakes. Evan and Kurt, having extreme appetites, wolfed down everything and anything available. Kurt, however, ate slightly more than Evan as his metabolism required much more energy than normal. When everyone was still new to the institute, they all used to watch Kurt in awe as he ate, but now it was just one of those things they got used to. Kitty sat between Evan and Kurt and on her plate were pancakes and waffles with fruit toppings. She took care to stay away from any meat on the table as she was a strict vegetarian. Logan, as usual, sat at the table with his morning paper hoping breakfast would soon be over. Bobby sat across from him, wondering why he always had to be so serious and could never enjoy himself like the rest of them. Everyone sat there fairly quiet, which was unusual, compared to their usual morning routines. It was clear the disagreeable weather was reflecting in everyone's mood.

Kitty, tired of the silence, annoyingly stated, "Would this rain like, totally quit already? There's nothing to do, I like, need to get out."

Kurt contentiously replied in his thick German accent, "Nah, that's not true. I'm sure there's plenty to do. You've just gotta get creative."

Rogue snapped, "Yeah, like what? We're not even allowed out of this darn institute, how are we supposed to have fun?"

Evan added, "I know, dude, I can't even rip up the streets on my skateboard. This is so lame."

Logan, with the mutant's conversation finally catching his attention and a chance to be his usual, military self, says, "I think I've just the thing for you kids." Immediately all heads turned and groans could already be heard. "Yeah… meet me in the Danger Room in one hour, I'll cure your boredom.", he said in his gruff, raspy voice.

Kurt, knowing he had so many better ideas, kiddingly says, "Ugh, see what you guys did? No body ever listens to the fuzzy dude. Now, we all suffer the consequences." Everyone rolled their eyes and left Kurt at the table alone. Kurt looked around, "What??"

* * *

An hour later, they arrive at the Danger Room for Logan's session. After they were in their places, they were told their objective: to find and hit the four targets placed around the battlefield which now consumes the Danger Room. The battlefield was an expansive rocky terrain, and covered with huge cliffs and boulders. There were dead trees, and with the help of Storm, the weather, much to the other mutants' dismay, was much like the weather they were already avoiding. While their objective may have sounded easy, the catch is that there were many obstacles, including different machines programmed to do one thing; attack relentlessly. Together, they had to work to find and hit the targets. Working together, they successfully completed their task. Utterly exhausted by the end of the session, retreating back to their rooms was the only thing on their minds. After Logan released them, that's exactly what some of them did.

* * *

The mood wasn't any better at the Brotherhood house, and perhaps even worse with their already dreary surroundings. The Brotherhood house was never kept up and the place was literally falling apart. Fred sat on their soiled and damaged sofa while eating what little he could find in their fridge. Pietro, who was often mysteriously away, was not present at the time. Lance, who was terribly bored, was pacing around the house mumbling uncomprehendingly to himself.

Mystique, who was isolated up in her room, had been acting strange lately. Something was bothering her, but the Brotherhood would never dare ask her. She was always quiet, yes, but usually she was out of the house. For days she had been up in her room. Fred, gobbling down his cold leftover slice of pizza, asked Lance, "Hey, what's up with the Boss?"

Lance replied, "Hmph, hell if I know. But I'm sure we'll find out eventually. Whatever she's planning I'm sure it involves us."

Toad, unaware of their conversation, was occupied in the kitchen while catching, or attempting to catch, the many flies that called their dump "home." The misfit mutants tried their best to cope with being in the house as much as they wanted to escape, but even they wouldn't go out in the horrible weather.

Mystique, who hadn't been seen for days, laid up in her king sized bed with many puzzling thoughts in her head. Lance was right, she was indeed concocting ideas for a plan, but the question was, for what? After minutes of pondering, up sat Mystique, grinning and letting out a sinister laugh, her face illuminated from the strikes of lightening through her bedroom windows. She had it, she knew what she had to do.

* * *

AN: I hope this was ok, I'm still getting back into the swing of things after being gone for so long. Let me know what you think. :) I may go back and change a few things, but I wanted to get some opinions so wanted to publish what I've completed. R&R please! :D


	2. No Answers

AN: Thanks for the reviews everyone! :) Exactly the incentive I needed!

niwa-k: Thank you for your extremely helpful critique! I'm glad you like it. :) This chapter is just about as long as the first one, I couldn't really help that. But I think it does a pretty good job at diving into the plot, so I hope you still enjoy it! :)

Disclaimer: Because I don't own the x-men and forgot in chapter 1. ^_^

* * *

After his exhausting session with Logan, Kurt was up in his room taking a catnap which he so often did. He was laying there half on the bed, half off, like he hadn't made it all the way up before passing out. This wasn't one of his usual catnaps, however. He was tense; his muscles were twitching and his tail kept waving back and forth in ridged motions. He was clearly dreaming, and from his sharp movements, it looked more like a nightmare. He continued to twitch, toss, and turn, making moaning sounds every few seconds under his heavy breathing. His teeth were bared and he looked like he was in immense pain. His tension was eased and he was suddenly awoken by a knock on his door. He quickly shot up and asked, trying to enter complete awareness, "Umm, who is it?".

A voice at the other side of the door, unmistakably the one of Kitty Pryde, replied, "Hey Kurt, it's me, open up." Kurt got up, wiped the drool the best he could from his soaked fur, fixed his bed-head and welcomed her in, knowing very well she simply had to phase through the door. Upon entering his room, Kitty looked at his shaggy appearance and drool stained pillow and laughed, "Looks like someone zonked out after this morning's session."

Embarrassed, Kurt left out a nervous laughter, "Oh, ja… I might have been a little tired." He rubbed the back of his head with his three fingered hand, another one of his nervous quirks, and asked, "So, is there anything I can do for you Käzchen?"

Kitty giggled at his awkwardness and answered, "Well, there's like, nothing to do, right? So I thought maybe we could hang out. We could totally get a few of the others to join us."

Kurt replied, slightly blushing from her laughter at him, "Oh, sure. I'm still kind of out of it though, and I'm not so sure it's the training session."

Kitty went from her giggling manner to a concerned one, "What's wrong?"

"I… had a nightmare." Kurt went back to his bed to sit down and Kitty immediately followed and took a seat next to him.

"Really? What about?"

"I… can't really explain it. It was… horrible feelings. Like, I'd never be able to rest if I didn't know what has happened to me. There're so many things I don't know, and in the dream, I just kept looking. And everyone I ran to never had the answers. Or, they did, and they wouldn't tell me. And, I felt hopeless. I kept running, and the atmosphere grew darker with everyone that turned me away, until it was almost complete darkness." Kurt put his head into his cupped hands in frustration. Kitty put her arm around him while trying to reassure him.

"Shhh, It's ok. You'll find answers one day."

"But, you don't know that. And neither do I. I mean… why do I look like this? I get why I teleport, but I've looked like this as long as I can remember. From what I've learned, the x-gene lies dormant, so why would I be the exception? Did someone do this to me? Or was I born like this?" Kurt's voice became more and more angry and sad, and Kitty tried even more to calm him down.

"Kurt…why don't you talk to the professor? Maybe he'll be able to help."

"He was the worst in my dream. He knows everything, but he wouldn't tell me. We've been through this before. Why don't I deserve to know?"

Kurt gazed into Kitty's ocean blue eyes, and she was surprised by the pained and hateful expression on his face, "Kurt, I'm sure the professor doesn't want to tell you anything you're not ready to handle. But if he knew what it was doing this to you, maybe he'll open up, you know?"

"Ugh, I don't know Käzchen. I always try to block that part of me out of my mind, but recently… a lot has been reminding me of it lately, and it haunts me." Kurt's eyes fill with tears as he draws his knees up to his chest and he wraps his arms around them. He always found this position comforting, and in this pose anyone could tell he was either depressed or pensive. In this case, he seemed to be both.

Kitty moved a little closer to the blue mutant, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Hang in there, ok? We'll get this figured out. You sure you don't want to do something to get your mind off of this?"

Kurt's tension eased up slightly and his position became more relaxed. He looked at Kitty and smiled, "Thanks for being here Kitty."

Kitty returned a smile, "Of course. You're like, my best friend. We've like, gotta look out for each other. So, how about a movie or something?"

Kurt stood silent for a few seconds before his reply, "I think I just need some rest for now. I feel like I've had a whole 'nother work out. Think we could do something later?"

Kitty smiled, "Of course we can. Just try and sleep peacefully."

"Oh, no more sleep for me. I don't want another nightmare. Just… trying to recuperate."

Kitty slowly got up from his bed and turned to him, looking at him in a soft, caring away, "I understand. Just, come down whenever you're ready. And remember, I'm here if you want to talk." Kurt smiled at her and nodded, and with that, Kitty exited his room and left the young mutant at peace. Kurt lay back on his bed and the thoughts continued to race through his mind. Why were so many things unanswered? Why didn't anyone want him to know? Was his past really that horrendous? His thoughts were interrupted by a crow squawking on his balcony. At first he tried to ignore it, but the crow continued to squawk and flap it's wings at his window. He got up from his bed, far too tense to use his muscles for teleportation, and walked over to his balcony. As soon as he opened the balcony doors, the crow flew away, but there at his feet, his visitor had left a note.


	3. Pressure

A/N: Sorry for the delay and for this chapter's incredible shortness! My computer was crashed and I just got it up and running again, and wanted to do a quick update while I had the time. Nothing much, but enough to give a few answers before I get a longer chapter done. :)

* * *

Kurt looked down at the letter at his feet. He looked up again and watched in the distance as the crow flew away. He already had his suspicions as to who the mystery visitor was. He leaned down and picked up the envelope, still very confused. He proceeded to his bed where he sat down and slowly started to open it. Inside was just a single piece of paper. He started to decipher the message, and what he was reading, he couldn't believe. His eyes opened wide, and his whole posture tensed.

"Dear Kurt, I know I haven't been much of a mother to you. I have so many regrets from the past years, and I'd love nothing more than to get to know you and make things right. My biggest regret is not talking to you that day at the construction site, and I should have known it wouldn't have gone unnoticed. This time I'm hand delivering this letter, so I hope this time is a success. I'm sure you have many questions, and I feel I owe you answers. But, I simply cannot risk giving you this information as long as you are against me. Because of that, I ask you to join the brotherhood. Only then will you get the answers you are looking for."

Kurt, in understandable shock, put the letter back into it's envelope. He looked around the room he was in, and thought about all the friends he has made. How could he give all of this up? The best thing that has ever happened to him? As much as the thought made him quiver, he just could not get his mind off of the possibility of finding out everything he wanted to know. He had a big decision to make, and it was not going to be an easy one. Mystique had given him an ultimatum.


	4. What are best friends for?

A/N: Got another chapter up! Sorry about the last one being so short, but I sat down and got to business with this chapter! :) R&R. Enjoy!

* * *

With the weather still treacherous beyond the mansion walls, the young mutants were still restricted to the confines of the institute. Most just stayed in there rooms and caught up on chores while others tried to find some other things to do to occupy their time. In the mansion kitchen were Scott and Jean getting something to eat, with the usual flirting that went on between the two of them. They were soon interrupted unexpectedly by the sight of Kitty at the fridge. Having no need to use a door, she always seemed to make these unexpected entrances. She perused the fridge while looking for something of her liking when she stopped and noticed the two mutants staring at her. Kitty asked with her head turned, and her hands still busy in the fridge, "What, did I like, interrupt something?"

Scott chuckled, "No, you're fine. We weren't discussing anything important."

Jean added, "We're just trying to pass this day the best way we can."

Kitty replied, "Yeah, I know what you mean. Oh…" She paused for a brief moment as she thought about her distressed friend upstairs. "Can I talk to you guys about something?"

Jean responded, "Of course Kitty. What is it?"

"It's… about Kurt. He's like, not himself at all today. I'm really worried about him."

"Not himself? How so?"

Kitty looked away and stroked her arm, was it really her place to tell them what Kurt had confided in her? Was it ok if it were for his well being? She slowly answered, "Well, he just seems… troubled. It's not really my place to say why, but I was just wondering what I should do? How do I, like, help him when he doesn't want to be helped?"

Scott replied, "You've just go to wait for him to come around. Don't worry, knowing Kurt? He always comes around."

Kitty responded, "Yeah, you're probably right. Maybe I'll go up and check on him. Thanks guys."

Kitty immediately went upstairs after leaving the kitchen, completely forgetting the food she went in there to get. Kurt was now all that was on her mind. When she got to his door, she stopped, and instead of knocking, she stood there for a second and thought to herself, "I wonder what it will take for him to open up to me? Have I given him enough time?" Trying to ignore her many thoughts, she decides to knock on the door in the best interest of her furry blue friend. Barely audible, she heard a faint "Yes?" come from the quiet room. "Kurt, you mind if I come in?" Again, barely audible, she heard a miserable "I guess" and she took that as her cue, whether inviting or not, to go in. The sight before her was pitiful. Laying facedown on his bed, over his tearstained pillow, was Kurt looking at a photograph. Kitty couldn't make out what it was, but she knew it must have had some relevance. His indigo hair was a mess and his tail, which usually swayed with life, lay limp over his bed. The fur on his face was wet from crying. "Kurt… can I talk to you for a second?" Her valley girl accent seemed to disappear the more her concern grew.

Kurt lifted his heavy head from his pillow and gazed into Kitty's concerned ocean blue eyes, which started to fill with tears over her saddened friend. "Sure, although… I'm not exactly sure what to say." Kurt got up off of his stomach and sat at the end of his bed to make room for his concerned friend. He was barely able to look her in the face. Kitty had always been so good to him and had been such a great friend for as long as he could remember. Sure, it was rough at the beginning, but he ended up getting closer to her than anyone else in the institute. And now he was thinking about leaving? He was most ashamed to tell Kitty than anyone else.

Kitty asked, "Are you feeling _any _better since we talked before?"

Kurt replied, tucking his knees to his chin, "Nein, if possible I think I feel even worse." Kurt glanced over at Kitty and saw that he wasn't the only one hurting. He was now hurting her, and that made him hate himself even more. "Kitty, I don't want to put you through this. You don't deserve to worry so much. Especially not for me, I'm not worth it."

Kitty placed her delicate hand on his tense shoulder, "Hey, you're like my best friend. Of course I'm going to worry about you. And of course you're worth it Kurt. Why are you always so hard on yourself?"

Kurt gazed into Kitty's eyes. His sad eyes screamed hurt and pain. "Kitty, I've… never talked about it before… not to anyone. Well, except the professor. I've… had a really bad past, and it still haunts me."

Kitty, growing more concerned, asked, "Do you… want to talk about it? I'm here." She gave Kurt a reassuring smile.

Kurt replied, "See this picture? It's a picture of me and my foster parents." He stopped for a moment for Kitty to look at the picture of his two normal looking foster parents next to a 4 year old, disfigured, blue and furry being. "When I was growing up, I was always different. Most of the mutants here had perfectly normal lives until their powers manifested. But me? I've lived with this my whole life." Kurt dropped his weary head into his hands as he tried to keep himself from crying. Kitty through her slender arms around him, in attempt to comfort her friend.

"Well, I'm here if you want to talk. I'm not leaving until I know you're ok."

Kurt reached over his shoulder to wrap his three fingered hand around her's. "Thank you Kitty. But I don't think I'm going to be ok for a long time. You see, when I was little, everyone thought I was a monster. My foster mother always kept me in hiding, but when I was discovered people tried to burn down my house, chased me and my family with pitchforks, and I was severely attacked on more than one occasion." Kurt stopped talking for a second as he tucked his knees closer and wrapped his tail around him, as if he was going into the fetal position. "I didn't have an image inducer like I do here. I didn't have a disguise. I lived in fear. And my fear wasn't just for me, it was for my family. The family I cared about so much and didn't want to see hurt because of me. It was all my fault…"

Kitty sternly interrupted, "Hey, nothing has been your fault. You can't help the way you were born."

"Yes, but… I don't want to cause anyone anymore pain. Especially the ones I care about the most. Maybe I could live with my past if I knew something about it, but right now all I know is that Mystique is my mother. But that still doesn't explain my strange characteristics. I want to know more."

"Are you sure Kurt? What if the history of your past just gives you more heartache?"

Kurt thought about Kitty's response for a moment. "It doesn't matter. At least I'll know. I'll know why I've scared so many people, why I've caused people to do such hateful things. They did those things because of me…" Kurt stood up and went over to his dresser to pull out the letter and showed it to Kitty, "I got this today." He handed her the letter to read, because it was just too painful to talk about.

Kitty took the time to really absorb the details of the letter, and knowing that he may be considering it, she didn't get offended. Instead, she calmly looked at Kurt and questioned, "So, you think you're going to do it?"

Kurt curled up even tighter, "I… I don't know. I'd be leaving so much. I've made such great friends here, and now I'm discussing this with the one that I would miss the most."

Kitty's eyes filled up as the blue mutant looked into her eyes. He was hurting so much, and the last thing she wanted to do was make Kurt feel guilty. "Hey, don't worry about me. I'll really miss you, but I want you to be happy. If this will make you happy, don't you think you should do it?"

"I don't know… I just sense this is one of her schemes, yet she does sound genuine. I just don't know why I'd have to go over there. And the worst thing of all, how could I betray my friends?"

"Again, don't worry about us. Worry about 'you' right now."

Kurt spun around and embraced Kitty, tighter than he had ever embraced anyone before, "Kitty, you are my best friend. Thank you so much." He looked at her, finally breaking a tiny smile. "I guess I've got some thinking to do."


End file.
